Health minister Joe Phaahla has apologised “unreservedly” to the nation for the controversial Digital Vibes saga that will result in the precautionary suspension of officials by the end of Thursday.
Phaahla said the report showed that “indeed whistle-blowing is one of the effective mechanisms in the fight against fraud and corruption.
“We fully understand the public concerns and interest in this matter because it involves allegations of misappropriation of public funds in the middle of the fight against a Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far cost the country substantial unbudgeted funds, as well as people's lives and livelihoods. Thus, we are committed to study the report’s findings and recommendations fully, and act on the outcomes of the formal disciplinary processes without fear, favour and prejudice,” he said.
He added that the department was committed to clean governance. “Despite how uncomfortable the report may appear, it will help us tighten controls and ethical practice. We are talking here about a big number of senior officials implicated but we take this very seriously and we will tighten controls and ethical practices.”
He said the department was implementing precautionary suspensions because it was awaiting the formal processes. “It does not help when there is a lot of suspicion on the people who must run this system so we want to assure the public that we will do everything possible to correct this. “This kind of development demoralises the honest and hardworking public servants working in the health system,” he added.
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